Employee Spotlight: Jeremy Valle

Meet ORAU employee Jeremy Valle! Jeremy is an ORAU contractor working under the National Student Services Contract (NSSC) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a Program Assistant in Edison, NJ, Jeremy supports EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD), the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Responses (CESER), and Community-Engaged Research Collaborative for Learning and Excellence (CERCLE). Jeremy assists the CESAR Immediate Office (IO) and supports the Senior Scientist for Community Research and executive lead of EPA’s Community-Engaged Research Collaborative for Learning and Excellence (CERCLE).

Jeremy recently attended a conference for CESEAR Leadership located at the EPA office in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This conference served as an opportunity for CESER Leadership to meet with the different branches of the Water Infrastructure Division (WID). Jeremy’s mentor is one of the many CESER leaders, and Jeremy joined his mentor for this conference as the Program Assistant for CERCLE. At the Cincinnati conference, Jeremy met people located across the country working in CESER and CERCLE in addition to WID branches. Jeremy was able to attend meetings between CESER leadership and the ten WID teams, hearing from members about their academic and professional journeys, personal life stories, and the inspiring work they do at EPA. Jeremy stated, “It was amazing to see the breadth of experience that makes up the EPA, including college student interns, physical and social scientists with PhDs, employees with nearly 50 years at the EPA, and everything in between.” In addition, Jeremy was able to discover that the EPA is a beacon for diversity, with members hailing from all over the country (California, Kentucky, New York, Puerto Rico, Virginia, and more) and even all over the world (Ghana, Greece, India, South Korea, Ukraine, and more). Jeremy learned about the many areas of research WID members engage in, from PFAS and lead disinfection to stormwater and drinking water systems. Jeremy stated, “I hope to interact with these amazing people more as my time at the EPA progresses and cannot wait to see the phenomenal things we are able to achieve as a division, center, and agency.”  

In addition to highlighting conference travel and meeting colleagues in Cincinnati, Ohio, we asked Jeremy about joining the EPA CERCLE team and his work. When asked what his favorite part of working at EPA has been so far, Jeremy said, “Joining the EPA team has been a dream-come-true. Specifically, becoming an integral member of CERCLE, a new EPA initiative to connect communities to research and actionable resources for their environmental concerns, has been an experience unlike any other. I feel incredibly lucky that this opportunity is my first official job right out of undergraduate. Every EPA employee, whether federal, temporary, or contracted, has a passion for the work they do that you likely will not find in most other workplaces. The desire to educate and learn from others, research, and create solutions to long-standing environmental problems, and engage communities in the fight for environmental justice is contagious. Whether working from home or in the office, I am consistently driven to do my best and grow alongside my colleagues and the EPA as a whole. My favorite part has been interacting with all the different types of people working for the EPA - physical scientists, social scientists, administrators, and so many more. They welcome newcomers like me with open arms, eager to dawn upon us their wisdom and passions. It is an incredibly inspiring environment to begin my professional career, and I hope to continue contributing to the EPA's mission for years to come.”

Background

Jeremy graduated from Loyola Marymount University in December 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Environmental Studies. During his time as an undergraduate, his passion for environmental justice grew in classes and extracurricular activities. During his studies, he focused on the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how to achieve them, creating opportunities for eco-literacy in childhood education so that students grow with appreciation for the environment, and the harmful role that agricultural monopolies in the U.S. have on food, economic, and national security.

Beyond the classroom, he volunteered for the Commission on Voluntary Service and Action, an NGO seeking to improve systemic organizing among community-based organizations across the country. This organization has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, who, in 2022, asked them to draft a detailed report outlining U.S. progress toward achieving the SDGs. Jeremy spent the year reaching out to community-based organizations across the country dealing with different aspects of the SDGs and requested their input on the status of the problems they face in their areas and what solutions they would implement if they were the U.S. government. In July 2023, Jeremy and other volunteers presented that report at the United Nations High Level Political Forum, discussing with delegates and international government organizations what collaboration must be done to achieve each and every SDG. This work solidified his interest in environmental policy and activism.

As a volunteer for Friends of Ballona Wetlands, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization seeking to restore Southern California's last coastal wetland and educate the public on the importance of environmental stewardship, he assisted in hands-on ecosystem restoration. Getting out into the field allowed him to visualize the change they were making, as well as what more must be done. Jeremy also served as an intern for this organization, utilizing social media to spread awareness about the various flora and fauna that relied on Ballona Wetlands for survival, as well as different ways for community members to become involved in wetland restoration efforts. This experience opened his eyes to the necessity of field work and community engagement toward achieving environmental justice for wildlife and the people that rely on these ecosystem services. All of these amazing experiences assured him that his ventures into the professional world needed to include environmental justice - becoming a contractor for the EPA served as the best opportunity to further that passion.